Check out our Skool Principal, Darrell Kopke’s response to Fast Company‘s ’30 Second MBA’ question: what is the business case for generosity?

How many relationships do you have in business?

Think about it. You have relationships with your co-workers, your employees, your customers, your suppliers, your suppliers’ employees, your customers’ employees, so on and so forth. How many? Tens? Hundreds?

Multiply that by the number of people in your company, your suppliers’ companies, and the number of your customers. How many relationships now?

Now consider the impact of the quality and tone of these relationships.

If your culture is based on frugality and scarcity everybody holds their piece of the pie tight to their chest. Information gets hoarded. Pennies are pinched. And nobody is sharing. Work gets done but by battling and coercion. There is likely inefficiency because of the lack of communication.

If you create a culture of generosity and abundance, the opposite is true. People feel appreciated. They are trusting. They are open and transparent. And business gets done where everybody feels good and relationships develop based on appreciation and mutual benefit.

You cannot avoid creating a corporate culture. Think about the mood and tone of employee interactions in your company. Are people laughing and light or walking on egg shells and scared? Are people open and honest or speaking about each other at the water-cooler? Your company has a culture whether you choose to work on it or you don’t.

There are many costs associated with employee attrition, customer churn, and supplier switching. Some examples are supplier ramp up costs, training costs, and costs associated with miscommunication. All of these are avoided when relationships are solid and based in generosity.

You have the ability to shape your corporate culture. You may as well be a stand for positivity, generosity and abundance. The happier and healthier your work environment, the better your company will perform.